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CELEBRATING OUR IDENTITY:
BEYOND SURVIVAL

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Introduction

There she went--alone--no one to applaud, no one to console, just her. But that was the way the contest had begun and had been conducted throughout. It was the National Spelling Bee Championship. The little, dark-haired, brown-eyed girl had spelled words that I never even imagined existed. However, this time she spelled the word with an a rather than with an e. With the missing of the letter, her moment of glory faded quickly. The spotlight had been shining on her for the past two hours, but the light was quickly extinguished. Her solo performance had given way to a solo exit.

In that young girl, I saw once again the human struggle that we encounter from the day that the umbilical cord is cut and we begin to breathe on our own: the struggle for independence. From the earliest moments in our lives, we learn that genuine happiness and full adulthood is discovered in being independent, self-contained individuals. Perhaps one of the greatest compliments that we can give to a child is, "Did you do that all by yourself?" From the songs of "doing it my way" to the political convictions that praise "personal freedoms" to the commercials that allow us to "have it our way," we step into adulthood longing for the time when we can make it on our own.

In more recent days, we have celebrated the strong individual who can win the prize against all odds and against all other persons. We have been bombarded with and oftentimes can live out our own struggles to survive through real-life media events that feature persons who struggle to survive to the bitter end, thereby becoming the one, lone winner. Whether it be cutting off the weakest link of the team or removing a member from the island, heroic survival tactics seem to permeate every fabric of our society.
In fact, this heroic individualism can so easily permeate popular Christianity itself that one would sometimes think it is a core conviction of the Christian faith. Celebrating the rugged superhero who follows Christ, we positively affirm, "Though no one join me, still I will follow." We are often commissioned independently to be Jesus to our world. At times, we are consoled that as long as "Jesus and me" are making the journey, everything is as it should be. The strongest Christian is often viewed as the one who can do it all by himself or herself.

Move One--The Dilemma of the Text: The Mode of Survival

Into the midst of this independent, survival-minded mentality explodes the question of Paul: "Is Christ divided?" Can you really divide Christ into many Christs and say that He independently and individually roams the earth? Paul provides a hearty "No!" However, to look at the church of Corinth, you would think that you were in our own "survival world" today. At Corinth various factions had developed, based upon which Christian leader a person decided to follow. Some persons claimed to follow Paul's leadership; others claimed to follow Apollos's leadership; while still others claimed to follow Christ's leadership.

As a result of this misunderstanding of the individual, the church at Corinth not only bickered over who they followed as their leader but also even competed to be first in line at church dinners. Gifts--such as wisdom, knowledge, preaching, and healing--designed to contribute to the overall wholeness of the church at Corinth had instead become divisive factors. Rather than gifts, they became demonstrations of personal power and wisdom. The focus was no longer upon the One testified to by the church but upon the ones who were doing the testifying. Divisions began to break out within the church. With the focus upon the strength of individuals, survival became the ultimate goal. When everyone else's lamp had gone out, who would be the lone survivor?

Move Two--The Answer in the Text: The Body of Christ

Into this mind-set where everyone at Corinth was trying to be a "little Jesus" to their world, Paul explodes with the most startling revelation: you are the Body of Christ. At face value, this statement seems simply to affirm what each one of the Corinthians already believe--each one of them is the Body of Christ. However, it might be more appropriate to translate Paul's statement in the language of the people in the area of the country where I live: "Ya'll" are the Body of Christ. Rather than creating many "little Jesuses" in the church at Corinth, Paul declares that there is only one Jesus and that one Jesus is expressed in His one Church. There are not many "Bodies" of Jesus but one; therefore, if the city of Corinth is to see Jesus Christ embodied in their presence, it will be through the church at Corinth.

Paul continues on with his earthshaking revelation. If Jesus himself is seen in us, then what part do we play as individuals? Do we simply blend in with the masses of the Body? In no way does Paul deny the role of the individual. In fact, he continues on by saying that individually each member of the church at Corinth is a Body part of the one Body. In other words, individuality is discovered within the larger context of the one Body of Jesus, just as individual body parts are defined within the larger context of the one human body. However, it is only as the Body as a whole is indeed a whole that the full work of Christ is carried out.

But what about the body parts? What if there is one part that would look at the rest of the body and conclude that really the body could do just as well without it? Or what if it just doesn't carry out its function for a while? This sense of inferiority can so easily invade the Body of Christ. We see the stronger, prominent parts of the Body as they carry out their functions and their duties, and then we look at what we can offer. It seems to be so small, so weak, so insignificant. If the kingdom of God were about individual superheroes who can take the gospel to the world by themselves, or if the kingdom of God were about strongest links in the chain and surviving longer than anyone else on the island, we weaker Body parts might go ahead and extinguish our own lights. At the least we might decide just not to function for a while. But the Kingdom is not about individual superheroes, strong links, and survivors; the Kingdom is about the Body, a community, us--all of us--together being the Body of Christ to the world. In fact, in this Kingdom, where barren women give birth, youngest children become kings, and the Cross becomes the very power of God for salvation, the weaker members of the Body are treated with special respect. Certainly, because our identity as God's people is "Body identity," a community, there is no place for inferiority.

Or what about those Body parts that are visibly very strong? Their function is one that the rest of us would conclude, "We could never make it without them." It is indeed true; we desperately need those strong Body parts. Why? Because we are a Body. At the same time, strong Body parts can never come to the point of saying, "I can do it all on my own." Why? For the very same reason: we are a Body. As important as the eye is, the eye is not the Body; as important as the ear is, the ear is not the Body. Because our very identity as the people of God is "Body identity"--community--there is no place for superiority.

We might conclude that the way in which to overcome those Body parts that are inferior and those Body parts that are superior is to find a way for all of us to be the same Body part. Then everyone would "feel the same" about himself or herself and each other. But to this remedy of false community or spiritual cloning, Paul responds, "What if the whole body were an eye, how would we hear? If they were all one part, where would the body be?" Indeed, the way for the Body to be the Body is not for each member to be swallowed up into one Body part but simply to be the Body parts that we are and celebrate our individual place within the great context of the Body to which we belong.

Move Three--The Challenge of the Text: Identity Within the Body

The same word that burst forth into the lives of the people at Corinth two millennia ago bursts forth into our lives today: You (all) are the one Body of Jesus Christ. In the midst of a dominant culture that praises rugged individualism and isolated independence, we are called to see an alternative vision, the Kingdom vision, for who we are as the people of God. We are called to live within a community in covenant with God and with each other. Within that covenant community, we discover, we celebrate, and we live out our individual place. Where inferiority might be present in our lives today, we are called to abstain from retreating and withdrawing and to celebrate our place in the beautiful Body of Jesus Christ. Where superiority might occur in those moments where we once again take the rugged individual's way out, exclaiming, "It's just Jesus and me," we are challenged to refuse to withdraw into ourselves. We are called to see our lives in light of the beautiful Body of Jesus Christ. It is not just Jesus and you; it is Jesus and you and him and her and her and him . . .

Today, as we celebrate what it means for us to be the people of God, we celebrate the radically alternative message of God's kingdom that has always puzzled societies that are built upon survival tactics and strong links--God is building a people, a community, a Body, a Church. You, no matter what part of the Body you are, YOU (individual) are a member of the Body of Jesus Christ! And YOU (plural) are that Body of Jesus Christ!
How does Jesus Christ roam our community this week? How will He be made known in our schools, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, our homes? He will roam our community through us--eyes, noses, feet, hands, mouths--as together we worship Him, are transformed from glory into glory into His image, and as we subsequently embody His life. Today, we celebrate our identity as the people of God--an identity that speaks into the face of individual superheroes and rugged survivalists--an identity that finds itself within community.

Conclusion

As we celebrate our identity as the people of God today through the ancient tradition of the love feast, the breaking of bread and sharing it with one another, we recognize that we are the Body of Christ broken for our world. As we share life together and as we are transformed from glory into glory into the very image of Jesus Christ, we are called to extend to one another the great invitation:

Brother, let me be your servant,
Let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace to
Let you be my servant too.

We are pilgrims on a journey;
Brothers, sisters on the road;
We are here to help each other,
Walk the mile and bear the load.

I will hold the Christlight for you
In the nighttime of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
Speak the peace you long to hear.

I will weep when you are weeping;
When you laugh, I'll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow,
Till we've seen this journey through.